Why a Co-op of Software Consultants?

The founding members of Computost have spent the majority of their professional careers in the software consulting industry. In consulting it's not difficult to determine how much the company values you. Most often you know the rate that is being billed for your time. You know how much time you are billing and what you are being paid. It's a straightforward calculation to determine the percentage being distributed to you. Most of the time it's not where you would want it to be. In a standard company there's no knowing how the remainder of the profits you earned are being used. This is one of the problems Computost aims to fix as a cooperative.

Our Co-op Principles

There are an infinite number of ways to run a cooperative. We have chosen the following principles to run Computost by:

One Member One Vote

Every member has the same voting weight.

Member Managed

Every member is required to vote on each decision or proposal. Any member can raise a proposal to vote on.

No Hierarchy

There are no managers. All members have the same level and authority and autonomy.

Patronage Based Compensation

Every member receives the same base salary, decided by members. In addition to salary, surplus is distributed to members on a cadence decided by members. The percentage of surplus distributed to members is equal to their patronage, which is currently defined as hours worked in the time period.